There are numerous organizations that are doing incredible work in the community. SORRELL: To be frank and honest, we are doing investigatory work ourselves because that's truly how this information came about - was from us in the community. Can you talk about, like, what is your hope now? What is the hope of the community about where this investigation is going to go from here at this point? Nothing's confirmed on the connections yet, but your publication's reporting - as you've been mentioning all along during this conversation - it's largely been about the relationship between law enforcement and marginalized communities in your area. There's multiple agencies that are working collectively to try to investigate where other victims might be.ĬHANG: Well, I understand that Excelsior Springs and Clay County authorities are looking for any possible connection between this suspect, Timothy Haslett Jr., and other victims or people who have gone missing in the area. So right now, the police are still looking into that, and they have opened the investigation. And she also - you can read this in the court documents from the prosecutor's probable cause statement - she said that two of her friends did not make it out and had been murdered by Timothy Haslett Jr. SORRELL: We know that she is out of the hospital at this point. Do you have any information on how she's doing now? Neighbors reported finding her earlier this month screaming for help with a collar and lock around her neck. Can we talk about this woman who escaped? She's identified by just the initials T.J. And that is another just aspect that is deeply troubling about this situation.ĬHANG: All of this does sound astonishing and deeply concerning. And so that was also deeply concerning to us. The Black community generally was silenced, in essence, because of that. They didn't reach out to any community members. They didn't reach out to the bishop that initially made that video. They did not reach out to us to ask where did we get this information. And after the police department said that - that our reports were completely unfounded, is what they said, even though they did not take any time to look into the reports. And just to - also to provide some more context to this situation, we as a Black news outlet - the only Black digital news outlet in our area - reported on this story first, as you mentioned. It's a pleasure to be here.ĬHANG: So first, what can you tell us about the suspect in this case, Timothy Haslett Jr.? He's been charged with kidnapping, rape and assault, right? Can you tell us more? He joins us now, and we should note there are disturbing details in this report. Ryan Sorrell, founder and executive director of the Kansas City Defender, has been covering this case. Last Friday, police in the nearby city of Excelsior Springs arrested a white man on multiple charges after a 22-year-old Black woman said that she had escaped his basement after being held captive for weeks. And ain't nobody saying nothing.ĬHANG: The Kansas City, Mo., Police Department called these reports, quote, "unfounded." But a horrific discovery is now raising new questions. The reason I'm upset is because we got four young ladies that have been murdered within the last week here off of 85th and Prospect. TONY CALDWELL: I am a little upset right now. Last month, the Kansas City Defender, a nonprofit news outlet, posted a video of a local community leader who raised concerns about missing and possibly murdered Black women in the area.
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